|
Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy
bills. An average household dedicates 5-10 percent of its energy budget to lighting. Using
new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50-75 percent. Advances
in lighting controls (timers) offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time
lights are on but not being used.
Use tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures
throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps
are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about four to ten times longer.
| Incandescent Watts | CFL Watt Range | Lumen Range |
|---|
| 60 | 13-18 | 890 |
| 75 | 18-22 | 1210 |
| 100 | 23-28 | 1750 |
| 150 | 30-38 | 2780 |
Incandescent bulbs provide an excellent bright light for safety, security and decoration. They
are inexpensive, but generally use three to four times more electricity than other bulbs.
Incandescents only last 750 to 3,000 hours.
Today's CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent lights. Although
fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they pay for
themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. CFL fixtures are now available that feature dimmers
and operate much like incandescent fixtures. They screw into the same socket as an incandescent bulb
but may not fit some covered fixtures due to the ballast in the base of the bulb. These bulbs have
an average life of about 10,000 hours. However, very cold weather may keep them from lighting up.
CFLs in outside fixtures work best if the fixture is completely covered. The cover retains heat
the fluorescents need to attain full brightness in cold weather.
It is a myth that it costs more to turn off fluorescent lights than to leave them on. This was
true in the 1940’s when fluorescent lamps first became popular because it greatly shortened lamp
life. Today’s lamps aren’t as affected by start up damage. Their lives are shortened by unneeded
hours of operation. The energy surge to start up the lamps is so small it’s cheaper to switch them off.
What can I save?
CFL savings depend on how many hours per day the incandescent light bulb that you replaced was
used. The examples below give you a better idea of what your savings might look like. Of course, your
savings will vary if the incandescent light bulb that you replace was used more or less than the hours
listed in the chart below.
| Bulb Type |
100W
Incandescent |
23W Compact
Fluorescent |
| Purchase Price |
75¢ |
$11.00 |
| Life of Bulb |
750 hours |
10,000 hours |
| Number of Hours Burned per Day |
4 hours |
4 hours |
| Number of Bulbs Needed |
About 6 over 3 years |
1 over 6.8 years |
| Total Cost of Bulbs |
$4.50 |
$11.00 |
| Lumens |
1,690 |
1,500 |
Total Cost of Electricity
(10 cents/kilowatt-hour) |
$45.38 |
$10.44 |
| Your Total Cost over 3 years |
$49.88 |
$21.44 |
| Total Savings over three years with the Compact Fluorescent |
$28.44 |
Indoor Lighting Tips
- Turn off the lights in any room you’re not using, or consider installing timers,
photocells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
- Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where
you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and
countertops under the cabinets.
- Consider 3-way lamps; they make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter
light is not necessary.
- Use 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for
your workroom, garage, and laundry areas.
- Consider using 4-watt minifluorescent or electro-luminescent night lights. Both lights
are much more efficient than their incandescent counterparts. The luminescent lights are
cool to the touch.
- Use CFLs in all portable table and floor lamps in your home. Consider carefully the
size and fit of these systems when you select them. Some home fixtures may not accommodate
some of the larger CFLs.
- Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows
to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter
colors that reflect daylight.
- If you have torchiere fixtures with halogen lamps, consider replacing them with compact
fluorescent torchieres. Compact fluorescent torchieres use 60-80 percent less energy, can
produce more light (lumens), and do not get as hot as the halogen torchieres. Halogen torchieres
are a fire risk because of the high temperature of the halogen bulb.
- Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing these products.
Outdoor Lighting Tips
- Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on
only at night or when someone is present. A combined photocell and motion sensor will increase
your energy savings even more.
- Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use CFLs because of their long life. When
living in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold weather ballast since standard CFLs
may not work well at minus 40°F.
- Also consider high-density discharge (also call HID) or low-pressure sodium lights.
|
